Some Map modifiers give all monsters in that map a damage reflection, either physical or elemental.

Punishment

A monster dealing physical damage with an attack while cursed with Punishment will have a portion of that damage reflected back on themselves.

Items

Damage Reflection can be personally acquired by a Damage Return Item affix seen almost exclusively on Shields. Summoner type players that use Necromantic Aegis should consider using a Shield with a high amount of damage reflection for additional synergy as this effect spreads to all Minions.

The dangers of damage reflection

Reflection can be one of the most dangerous effects to encounter at high levels, especially for players focused on high damage output and attacks or spells which can hit many targets at once. A fast moving rare monster that appears quickly from off the screen and affects multiple monsters with its reflection aura can cause a large spike of damage to the player. Players must also be careful with skills that have a long duration (such as Spark supported by Pierce and Increased Duration), as once cast, they cannot be cancelled if a source of reflection appears.

Long-range attacks and spells can also be dangerous, as stray arrows and spells might hit a tightly packed group of reflection monsters that are off-screen, causing a large amount of damage to the player.

Even monsters that are much lower level than the player and would normally pose no threat can prove deadly if affected by reflection, since the reflection is based on the player's damage output, not the monster's damage.

Reflection auras can sometimes be difficult to spot, especially in the heat of battle when the aura can be obscured by various skill effects, and other auras.

Dealing with reflection

Reflected attacks can be blocked and dodged, and reflected spells can be blocked if the player has spell block or spell dodge. [3]

Reflected damage is reduced by the attacker's Armour and resistances. For instance if a player with 75% lightning resistance deals 100 lightning damage to a monster with 20% elemental damage reflection, the player will only take 5 of the reflected 20 lightning damage.

If the reflected damage is attack damage, it can be evaded. It uses your own accuracy rating. [4]

Damage dealt by a player's totems, traps, mines, and minions will be reflected back to the totem/trap/mine/minion, not the player.

A rare monster with a reflection aura can be converted, giving the player and the player's allies the benefits of the aura instead of the surrounding monsters.

Having at least one skill that deals primarily physical damage can be useful for killing monsters with elemental damage reflection, and vice versa.

Content is available under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Path of Exile content and materials are trademarks and copyrights of Grinding Gear Games or its licensors. All rights reserved.
This site is a part of Curse, Inc. and is not affiliated with Grinding Gear Games.